


Marked By Fate

by bluefurcape (prettykid)



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Pedophilia mention, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 08:04:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8570821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettykid/pseuds/bluefurcape
Summary: In which the story begins with a young Kakashi glaring at a small baby.





	

Kakashi glared at the pink haired baby. “Is this it?”

The baby, named Sakura as he was informed by the doctor, gurgled at the pleasant tug of the invisible connection between them. As he had been told by countless people in the village, he knew the moment he laid eyes on her who she was, but he felt none of the happiness that was said to come with the first meeting.

He scowled more deeply, refusing to smile. There was no reason to smile. Here she was, after all these years, and it was far too late.

How was he expected to love after all that had happened to him?

Everyone he loved ended up dead. Even if he could accept her…it would be better if he was not a part of her life.

“It is rather unusual that your Fated showed up a few years later than other people your age.” The doctor lifted the blanket covering the baby, revealing the reddish birthmark shaped like a single flower petal behind her ear. Kakashi had the same one, the exact shape and size, over his right hip bone.

He wished he could be like that idiot, Gai, who did not have a Fated mark. Most, but not all, people had one. There were also those who matched up to more than one person. At this age, Kakashi had believed that his birthmark would not match anyone’s and he would be free to live his life without being bound to some stranger.

A baby had proved him wrong.

“Her parents have agreed that you can visit her once a week, if you’d like.” The doctor swiveled in his chair to his desk, writing notes on a report left open on its surface.

“I won’t,” Kakashi said. He handed the baby back to the waiting nurse with cool disinterest, ignoring the hollow pain he had not been aware of until he touched her. Damn that baby. He would have been fine not knowing. It was a mistake to come here.

This was ridiculous. The baby was thirteen years younger than himself. He would be a fully grown man by the time she was the same age he was now. There was a dirty word for that kind of relationship and it repulsed him by its very mention.

“You won’t?” The doctor raised a heavy brow. “I suppose it’s understandable, considering your age at the moment. It’ll be quite a wait before you two have anything in common.”

The baby started crying and the nurse made soothing noises towards the bundle in her arms. Kakashi’s first instinct was to leap to his Fated’s side and he _hated_ it.

“If that’s all, I’ll be going. I hate the sound of wailing brats.” Kakashi ignored the doctor’s protests about more forms needing to be filled out. He formed the hand signs and poofed out of the office.

#

Sakura flattened her hands on the bark of the tree, tilting her head as far back as she could at the silver haired boy pretending to sleep on the branch. “Heeeeey!”

For her fifth birthday, her parents had told her who her Fated was supposed to be. Everyone else in her class had a Fated and she had felt so out of place when she couldn’t even share their name. That stupid boy Naruto’s Fated was even in the same class. She didn’t really understand how he could have been paired up with Sasuke, but their marks matched.They said that it was supposed to be the person you were destined to be with, but those two seemed to hate each other.

A week now, she had been trying to get Kakashi to talk to her. He was apparently an ANBU captain. Already a jonin even though he was so young. _And_ he was already a teenager, unlike everyone else’s Fated, who were just kids. If she could only get him to visit her class just once, she could show off how cool her Fated was and no one would make fun of her anymore.

She jumped, waving her arms, trying to get his attention. “Hey!”

There was a long-suffering groan from the branches. “ _What_.”

“Hi, I’m Sakura. We’re Fated.”

“So?”

“Doesn’t that mean when I grow up, we’re going to get married?”

“No.”

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up. She picked the pieces of loose bark off the tree. “That’s what everyone says is going to happen…”

“Only stupid people think that.”

Tears welled in her eyes. Her lower lip began to quiver. “I’m not stupid.”

Through her blurry vision, she could have sworn he glanced down at her for the first time. She wiped her eyes and looked again, but he was gone. Great. Of course he would not want to be around a crybaby like her.

She kicked a rock.

#

Why.

Why.

Kakashi often asked this question to himself when he avoided her. Less of a question, but a weary complaint that had familiar tracks in his mind. Of course she would seek him out. She had no choice. It was only getting worse as she got older. When she was five, it was easy to hide from her. Now she was thirteen and getting better at being a shinobi, which meant, very occasionally, she could find him and make his life a living hell.

“There you are!” She grinned in triumph and punched the air.

“Mhm.”

He took a deep breath and looked at her for the first time in almost two years. He was scared shitless of the kind of reaction he would have. Most of the couples he knew had gotten married years ago. They bragged about losing their virginities to each other and being unable to keep their hands off each other since they hit puberty. Kakashi had made certain that he lost that pesky thing to a girl outside of the village he barely knew when he was seventeen. She had been a year or two older than him.

Fuck no, he did not want to have sex with a child.

He often wondered if this had happened to anyone else. It must have—he couldn’t be the only one, but it often felt that way.

He searched himself carefully for any distasteful urges as he beheld her, brutally turning over the thoughts that entered the sieve of his mind, ready to kill himself if there was _any_ sign.

Yes, she was beautiful, in the way that he could appreciate her aesthetically, but no different than when he admired a passing stranger’s features or a friend’s. Yes, he wanted to be near her, as he had felt since she was born. Yes, in some stupid way, he was happy that she was happy even though he dreaded being so close.

That was it.

No primal urges at the sight of her skinny arms and legs. The relief that fate had not turned him into a pedophile washed him away.

“I heard you turned down being my teacher,” she said, fiddling with her thumb.

“You’re old enough to understand why by now.” Kakashi wanted to hide his face in his book, but of all the people he could not read porn in front of, it was her.

“I know you hate me.”

He flinched as if she’d stabbed him. The pain in her voice left him feeling raw. The reaction was just as strong as the day she’d sought him out for the first time and he had made her cry. He’d been a jackass then, he realized that now. As the saying went, age brought wisdom. He wasn’t the lost kid he had been and he could be kind…when he wanted to be. “I don’t hate you.”

“I get it. You don’t want to be stuck with me. I just thought—if we got to know each other a little better, you might not think I’m so bad.” She sniffed and wiped her blotchy face on her shoulder.

“Sakura. I’m 26.”

“So?”

“You’re 13.” He ran a hand through his hair, dragging out a sigh. “Maybe fate thought this was a good idea, but I’m a grown man and you’re a child. We shouldn’t be around each other.”

“I’m not a child,” she said hotly.

“Yes. You are. And if any other adult comes to you acting inappropriately, don’t play along because you want to feel older. It’s not okay.” Kakashi knew at that moment he would kill the person who dared to even think about hurting her. He narrowed his eye. “If that happens, come tell me and I’ll make sure they can’t walk for the rest of their lives.” He had once been assigned to assassinate a politician who was a known pedophile. That man’s death had not been quick. It was one of the few times he took satisfaction in killing another person.

“Oh.” She folded her hands together, surprised by the vehemence dripping from his threat. “All right.”

“Train hard. Become a great kunoichi.” He ruffled her hair. A safe gesture.

As he was walking away, she asked softly, “Will you wait for me?”

He froze.

She hastily amended her words, “I mean…You don’t—“ she swallowed hard, “you don’t have to marry me. But will you be my friend?”

What should he do? He clenched his fists. The right thing was to probably keep his distance, but he didn’t think he could bear hurting her again. It was like he ripped his own heart out every time.

“Maybe,” he replied before disappearing in a whirl of leaves.

#

When Sakura was 14, Tsunade accepted her as an apprentice. She hunted down Kakashi then and told him. As always, he ruffled her hair and his eye creased in a smile. Her heart pounded as she wish she could see what his whole face looked like when he smiled. Without thinking, she breathily asked for a kiss as a reward and he soundly rejected her.

On her 16th birthday, she saved a group of girls, even younger than her, from being sold into slavery and that was when she finally understood the gift that her Fated had given her.

She had infiltrated the crime ring, undercover, proud to finally be handed a solo mission like this. The glow of the moment died when a man old enough to be her grandfather cupped her crotch through her pants with his filthy fingers and she had to fight back the urge not to blast him into horizon with her fist. At least she knew she could destroy him. The other girls were not so lucky.

There were terrible people out there who would take advantage of the vulnerability of children. They weren’t limited to evil crime rings. No, they were out there, living normal lives and hiding themselves well.

Her Fated was a good man. He would never in a million years do such a thing and she realized that she had made his life incredibly awkward. How terrible it must be, to be the Fated of a girl thirteen years his junior. While people his age were starting their families, he was alone…all because of her.

The least she could do was let him go.

“You don’t have to wait for me,” she said, tilting her head back and looking up into the branches.

He took the book off his face and looked down at her. “What?”

“I said,” she took a deep breath, “you don’t have to wait for me. Go find someone else if you can.” There were people without marks out there. Her heart clenched at the thought of him living a life with someone else, but she could do this for him.

Being Fated did not necessarily mean becoming lovers. She had read books on studies that had been done. Some became the best of friends and nothing more. Others, the bitterest of enemies who lived to destroy each other.

She hoped at the very least, she and her Fated could be friends.

He didn’t say anything, making her feel more like a fool with each passing second. She had done what she’d come here to do. She turned on her heel and started walking away.

And he didn’t stop her.

#

Shortly after she declared he didn’t have to wait for her—he wasn’t waiting for her, he was just a prick who didn’t care about relationships—he took a long-term mission that lasted about a year. And then another. And then another.

And then for good measure, one more.

There were no repercussions, as far as he could tell, of being away from one’s Fated for so long. The aching hollow feeling faded with time and he often found that he could barely remember it.

“No repercussions?” Genma snorted after Kakashi mentioned this during one of the missions. “My dude, you don’t sleep.”

A lot of shinobi couldn’t get to sleep at the end of the day. It wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Wait for her? Kakashi scoffed as he passed through the gates of the village for the first time in a year, thinking how ridiculous she was. He had never waited for her. As if to prove a point, he’d sleep with someone every now and again. Partners his own age. If she had done the same, more power to her.

They were done.

They were not anything.

They had never been anything but a stupid trick of fate.

“Kakashi!” Slender arms wrapped around his middle and instantly he felt the air leave his lungs.

Because she was squeezing him too tightly! When the hell had she gotten so strong?

“S-Sakura. I can’t breathe,” he choked out.

“Oh! Sorry,” she said, but there was a sly look on her face. She’d probably done it on purpose as some kind of punishment. “It’s just good to see you again.”

He forced himself to keep his eyes on her.

Nothing?

Good. This Fated nonsense was bullshit.

“Do you want to get a drink later and catch up?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Sure, why not? He was going to prove once and for all that he was free. “Which bar?”

She blinked her wide green eyes as if she hadn’t quite heard him correctly. “Huh?”

“Which. Bar.”

“The Oni’s Den is pretty good.” She flushed, losing the composure she had only moments ago. More quietly, she added, “I didn’t think you’d actually say yes.”

“Well, I did. See you at 7.”

He planned on being late and arrived thirty minutes after the time he’d told her. He went inside and spotted her instantly, chatting up a man who leaned towards her with clear interest. That was fine. He approached them, raising a hand in greeting. “Yo.”

“You’re late,” she said, scowling. Kakashi was a little bit pleased she immediately cut her conversation with the other man short as soon as he got there.

“Ah, you see, there was this strange mushroom growing in front of my apartment building and I tried a piece of it. It knocked me out for a few hours, but I think I’m okay.”

The stranger next to Sakura blanched and said, “I think you should go to the hospital.”

“If the mushroom had green spots, you’ll be dead in the next few hours.” Sakura sipped her drink, her eyes dancing.

Kakashi shrugged. “I’ve lived a good life.”

“I don’t want to be around if he’s going to drop,” the stranger muttered, backing away.

“Where are you going, Ryu?” Sakura asked.

“Uh—I remembered I forgot something at home. Later.”

Kakashi watched him go, rubbing his chin. “Hm. Well, I hope that guy’s not on any of my teams in the future.”

“I can’t believe he bought your stupid mushroom story,” she snorted.

“What gave me away?”

“It’s pretty obvious.” She grinned. “What’s your drink? It’s my treat.”

“Well, I never turn down free booze.” Kakashi sat on the bar stool next to her. “A Fire beer, please.”

She signaled the bartender and put in the order then turned back to him. “Where were you this time?”

“Sand. It’s like a demon’s ass crack over there.”

“Smelly?”

“No, it’s hot.”

“Use a different simile.”

The bartender set a mug in front of Kakashi and Sakura wrinkled her nose. She asked, “How do you drink that stuff? It smells awful.”

“It’s an acquired taste.” He’d acquired it after downing about twelve bottles of it in one sitting. Not his smartest move, but Gai had challenged him. Hm. He was starting to recognize that he used that justification a lot. He held the mug out to her. “Try it.”

She did.

She spit it out.

“I feel like I licked a stripper pole.” Sakura gagged, scraping her tongue on a paper napkin.

“More for me,” Kakashi said cheerfully.

Once she recovered, she said, “I might be getting married soon. I thought you should know.”

Married to someone else. Live her life…with someone else. He saw her very rarely, even now. Her new spouse would probably not appreciate having Sakura’s Fated running around every now and again.

She continued, “He ran a few missions with you back in the day. Do you remember Itachi?”

 _Itachi_?

That fool was only a few years younger than Kakashi. He gripped his knee. “Isn’t he a little too old for you?”

“It’s just a 5 year difference.” She lifted a shoulder. “It’s not like—“ She stopped.

Not like it was 13 years.

“I’m happy for you,” Kakashi said, before the silence went on for too long. The surprisingly dark thought crossed his mind that he should pay Itachi a visit sometime and put some fear into that boy. Kakashi may not have been interested in Sakura as a partner—but she was still his Fated, damn it. He protected his own.

“Thanks,” she said faintly, her eyes trained on him. “This is okay, right? We weren’t waiting for each other.”

“Yea.”

“I just wanted to ask one thing…” She straightened her shoulders, facing him fully. “I’m sorry I made it awkward before, but I’m 21 now. Could I…kiss you? Just once. I need to know.”

Unintentionally, his attention went to her lips. They were slightly parted and glinting from the moisture left behind by her drink. He was fascinated by the splash of color, a soft pink a shade darker than her hair.What could it hurt? Just this one time. Then she would be married and safe from Kakashi forever.

His voice almost rasped out of him when he finally said, “One time. Not here.”

She lived a few blocks away. He stepped into her apartment and was struck by how…Sakura it was. Cute. Comfortable.

Home.

He reluctantly followed her to the sofa and sat down next to her. She tucked her hair behind her ears and laughed nervously. He’d missed that laugh.

“I feel dumb—I’m acting like it’s my first kiss all over again,” she confessed.

“Who was your first kiss?” Truly, Kakashi was curious. He’d tried to block her out for so long and now he didn’t know a thing about her. He wanted to know. Did she like to read? What was her favorite TV show?

“This boy named Kiba when I was 14. He was just using me to make his Fated jealous. It’s okay, though. I was using him because you had just rejected me.”

The name vaguely rang a bell from a few missions Kakashi had led. He made a mental note to leave the worst camp chores to Kiba if they were ever assigned together again. “14. I was 27, then.”

“Yes, I know how to add. You’re freaking obsessed with measuring the difference between us.” She poked him in the chest. “The number 13 has been haunting me my entire life.”

They kept talking. About her apprenticeship. About his missions. About proper hair care. Every topic imaginable flowed between them.

“Will you tell me how you got that eye?” she asked.

He didn’t like speaking about it with others, but with her, confiding about what had happened was like a weight had been lifted. Just a few hours ago, they had been two strangers put together by fate. Now, she knew more about him than the people who had known him for more than three decades.

“I can’t believe that happened to you,” she whispered. She gathered him close and he let her, closing his eyes and feeling the gnawing ache of loneliness ebb away at last.

He had been wrong.

Being away from her had been exhausting. He could see that now. The light in his life had been off this whole time. Colors seemed more vivid in her presence. He inhaled her scent and it left him calm and relaxed. Even listening to the steady sound of her heartbeat made him feel safe and able to believe in a world that could be mended.

When he opened his eyes again, it was morning. They had slept together on her couch—not in the carnal sense. Just sleep. And for once, no nightmares plagued him.

She opened one bleary eye as he stirred awake. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he replied, not knowing what else to say.

“This feels nice.”

This felt _right_. He mumbled a wordless response and pressed his face into the juncture of her throat and shoulder.

She ran her fingers through his hair. “I didn’t get that kiss, did I?”

“Do you want it now?” he asked, his lips moving against her skin.

He felt a pleasant vibration in her body as she laughed. “I have morning breath. You don’t want to kiss me right now.”

He didn’t argue with her.

He just kissed her.

Fuck morning breath. What kind of man let something like that stop him from kissing a beautiful woman? He’d make love to her even if she was on her period.

He stopped, staring down at her in horror, torn between wanting to kiss her again and the realization that he had just thought about making love to her without recoiling.

13 years.

She didn’t open her eyes, even though she must have sensed something was amiss. She simply brought her hand behind his neck and pulled him down for another kiss without another word, thoroughlyerasing any thought in his mind, except to revel in the feeling of her lips on his.

The luxurious pace they were taking picked up a few notches when she slipped her hand down his pants, finding him half hard for her. He gasped, breaking the kiss.

“Sakura,” he warned, although his baser instincts were calling to him to grind his cock into her small hand.

“You’re bigger than I expected.” She tested his girth, moving up and down.

“You have to stop.” He groaned, struggling to stay coherent.

“I’m not a virgin.”

“That’s not the problem.”

“Let it go,” she purred. “We both want this.”

To prove her point, she guided him into her shorts where he could feel the wet heat of her cunt. His cock twitched in response, wanting to be inside her. He withdrew his hand, but he could still smell her on his fingers and he wanted to lick them so that he could taste her.

He wanted to taste her.

“This is just that Fated bullshit controlling how we feel,” he said.

“Why is it bullshit?” she asked.

“Because it’s not real.”

“And what is real, oh wise one?”

“How am I supposed to fucking know?”

“Well, let’s take a look at our situation.” She stroked his erection, but kept her tone conversational as if she were explaining how to take a prescription. “We get along well. We can talk to each other, which is more than I can say for some people I have to see on a daily basis.” Stroke.“You weren’t a monster who took advantage of me when I was twelve.” Stroke. “I want to suck your cock. Regularly. Is there more that you need?”

He nearly came at the idea of her routinely giving him blowjobs. No, he had never thought about her like this before. Where was this all coming from?

“What about Itachi?” he tried one last time.

“He actually dumped me a month ago,” she admitted, looking away.

“You lied.” It was really hard to accuse someone when one’s dick was in her hand.

She stopped, taking her hand back. He was about to say that she could lie all she liked, as long as she kept going, when she lifted her shirt over her head and took off her bra too.

Oh.

She kept taking off her clothes, making him forget what they were even talking about. Then she straddled him, her naked breasts directly at his eye level. Soft, bouncy breasts he was dying to play with.

“When I said you didn’t have to wait for me, I didn’t mean that you could run away for five years.” She rested her arms on his shoulders. “Do you even care that I missed you?”

He was distracted by the silk of her skin. “Uh…”

“It was childish of me to lie about Itachi, but I wanted to see what your reaction would be.” She tilted her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? That’s it?”

Damn it, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He leaned forward, taking her breast in his mouth and finally letting his hands cup the fullness of her behind. She let out a surprised moan, her back arching. His blood thrummed at the sound of her reactions, encouraging him to garner more. More. Make her scream his name.

“Take it off,” she demanded, tugging on his top. His clothes were gone within seconds. He wasn’t even sure where they’d thrown them.

Her smile widened as she traced the mark over his hip bone. “So this is where it was. I always wondered.” She pressed a kiss over it, drawing a shiver from him.

Later, as he was eating her out, kneeling before her, there was a weak, but rational voice in the back of his mind, reminding him that this was the woman he’d sworn he’d never touch.

Well, too late now. She was his Fated. His and no one else’s.

She beckoned him back up to kiss the lips on her face instead. “Mine,” she murmured.

 _Mine,_ he agreed.

He moved over her and she laid back, rubbing her clit as she watch him position his cock at her entrance.

“I need you,” she said.

They both cried out at the same time when he entered her. She clutched his arm, her expression tight with pleasure. He understood. This wasn’t like the sex he had with other people. At all.

She suddenly smacked him. “We could have been doing this as soon as I turned 18.”

“That is still a really questionable age, in my opinion,” he managed to say, impressed he could put together the words.

She rolled her hips, sighing happily. “Whatever you say. Will you move now?”

“Hold on.” He looked to the ceiling for strength and the ability not to come immediately like he was a teenager again.

She smirked, squeezing him with her inner muscles, almost making him lose his balance and crush her. He tweaked her nose. “Stop that.”

“It’s okay if you’re a little premature. We can take our time—“

He thrust, shutting her up. He watched with satisfaction as the smug look on her face fled and she closed her eyes and writhed beneath him.

“Yes,” she breathed, raising her arms over her head and grabbing on to the arm rest.

There was a current, an energy, between them that wove into the normal pleasure of having sex. Every time she moaned his name, the connection responded, drawing him to her even though he was already as close as he could possibly be.

There was no going back from this. It wasn’t just about the sex either. Don’t get him wrong, making love to her was blowing his mind, but he wanted to spend his days with her, talking to her, and being there for her when she needed him. He hoped that she felt the same.

He almost blacked out as he came and when he returned to his senses she was looking up at him with wide eyes. A laugh broke from her lips. “Is it always going to be like this or is it because we put it off for so long?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” He struggled to get his breathing under control and was glad to see she in the same position. If this time was any indication of future rounds of sex, he might have to start buying condoms in bulk and block out his schedule for the next few months.

She nuzzled his chest and traced small circles over the mark on his hip. “How old were you went you lost your virginity?”

“17.”

“I win. I was 16.” She stopped her fingers. “Most Fated lose it to each other, don’t they?”

“You know we couldn’t do that.” Mentally, he was ready to calculate their age difference again, but in the middle of it, he gave up. She was right. There was no point in doing that anymore.

She tangled her legs with his. “I’m glad you weren’t my first. I was so intimidated by you back then.”

“What?”

“Big genius. Jonin at 13. Copy Nin. ANBU Captain. Come on, what person wouldn’t feel a little inadequate compared to that?”

“Is this coming from the woman known as part of her generation’s Sannin?” Every now and again, he’d hear about some incredible feat and feel pride in her accomplishments.

“Oh.” She flushed red. “Don’t call me that. It’s embarrassing.”

“Sannin,” he said, his voice lowering.

“Stop.” She wriggled out of his embrace, but he held tight. She glared at him. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to call you Copy Nin.”

“I might like that.”

“I changed my mind about you.”

“Too late.” His hand slipped between her thighs.

He was relishing the sound of her mewls when there was a knock at the door. They both ignored it until a male voice said from the other side, “Sakura? I know you’re home.”

She jerked back into a sitting position. “That’s Itachi,” she whispered.

“Stay here.” Kakashi withdrew his fingers and sucked them clean. She watched, eyes heavily lidded, momentarily forgetting her ex was at the door.

Kakashi chanced upon his boxers discarded on the floor and pulled them on. It was lucky for Itachi, because otherwise, he was certain he would have answered fully nude.

Itachi’s dark eyes narrowed at the sight of Kakashi. “So it’s true. You’re back.”

“It would seem.” Kakashi crossed his arms, leaning against the frame.

“Where is she?”

“What’s it to you? You’re not together anymore.”

“That doesn’t matter. You are the last person who deserves her.”

Ouch. It was the truth, but today just happened to be a day Kakashi felt like being a little selfish. The corner of his lips twitched.

Itachi continued, “You’ve ignored her for her entire life. Do you even know what that can do to your Fated?”

Sakura appeared by Kakashi’s side, wrapped in a blanket. “Itachi, I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”

“Someone has to tell him off since you refuse to,” he replied.

“That’s enough,” Sakura hissed. “This is my choice. Goodbye.” She shut the door in his face. She rested her forehead against the wood.

“What was he talking about?” Kakashi asked.

“When you went away…I had already fallen in love with you. You might say it was a childish crush, but it was painful, especially knowing that we weren’t going to be together in any sort of capacity. I wanted to die.” She wouldn’t face him. “I know Fated don’t always love each other like that, but when they do…it changes the connection. Mine kept calling out to you, but there was never a response.”

“I’m sorry.” He wrapped his arms around her. The bleakness in her voice brought him low, making him feel like the worst kind of trash.

She took a shuddering breath. “It’s not your fault. You were trying to do the right thing.”

“I admit I could have handled it better.”

“You _did_ make me cry when I was 5.”

Kakashi winced. Stupid, angsty, teenaged-self. “Yea…”

“It’s okay.” She let the blanket drop around her feet. “I wouldn’t change any of it. It all led to this right now.”

He held her tighter. What he felt for her…he couldn’t identify what was caused by the mark or what was his true feelings just yet. His chest tightened as he held back all of the apologies he owed her. He wanted to make her happy, but he also owed it to her to be truthful.

“I need some time to sort this through. Will you…will you wait for me?” he asked.

She smiled at him, reaching up to caress his cheek. “Of course.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been holding onto this bc I meant to edit more but obviously I'm not doing that. Maybe this will encourage me to finally write part 2. Please leave comment/kudos. I love you.


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